1. The Field of the Invention
This invention relates to collecting substances and/or materials from a body of water and, more particularly, to novel systems and methods for harvesting and cleaning brine shrimp eggs on the open water.
2. The Background Art
As classified, brine shrimp are branchiopod crustaceans of the genus Artemia which commonly inhabit strongly saline environments, such as salty lakes and brine pools which exist throughout the world. The Great Salt Lake located in the state of Utah is an example of such a concentrated saline body of water which provides a rich environment where brine shrimp may flourish. One of the predominant species of brine shrimp commonly found in vast numbers on the Great Salt Lake is the species Artemia salina.
Measuring on the average of approximately one centimeter in length, brine shrimp primarily feed on free floating algae and other microscopic organisms found in hypersaline lakes and ponds. Typically during natural growth, brine shrimp acquire a shell which develops over a portion of their body and which is generally shed periodically throughout the life cycle of the brine shrimp to allow for additional growth. The shell casings discarded from brine shrimp are then deposited in the sur rounding waters and become a part of a conglomeration of floating debris generally contiguous the brine shrimp.
Normally reaching sexual maturity within approximately three weeks after hatching, brine shrimp generally reproduce about every fourth day, which may sometimes last for as long as an eight month period. Brine shrimp eggs (or cysts) are, accordingly, deposited in surrounding waters and become a part of the conglomeration of floating debris generally contiguous the brine shrimp
In some hypersaline bodies of water, such as the Great Salt Lake, brine shrimp eggs do not hatch during a period of several months of the year, primarily as a result of a period of physiologically enforced dormancy or diapause. In this regard, naturally occurring brine shrimp eggs are usually found with debris floating at or near the surface of a body of water in a mixture which is typically blown by the wind and carried by the water currents to the surrounding shoreline beaches.
Floating in a natural state at or near the surface of the water, brine shrimp eggs are routinely discovered in a mixture consisting, in a large part, of live and dead brine shrimp, discarded brine shrimp shell casings, brine fly casings, wood pieces, tumbleweed, twigs, trash, dead waterfowl, and/or other types of floating debris. After separating the deposited brine shrimp eggs from this mixture of floating debris, the brine shrimp eggs, under examination, typically resemble fine granules of sand as a result of their inherently diminutive size. For example, an ounce of salt water extracted from the Great Salt Lake may contain up to several million brine shrimp eggs.
Historically, the eggs of brine shrimp are collected, cleaned, dried, and packaged for storage so as to provide a general source of commercial fish food. After brine shrimp eggs have been processed, dried, and packaged, even after several years in storage, the eggs may be immersed in salt water for a period of about twenty-four hours and free-swimming larvae will usually emerge due to the tremendous resilience of brine shrimp eggs. Similarly, brine shrimp eggs may be hatched and used as an excellent food source for feeding fish an/or other small aquatic animals in saltwater and/or freshwater aquariums. Because brine shrimp eggs have the capability of being stored for several years as a packaged commodity, brine shrimp eggs have become a valuable resource of commercial fish food which is very much in demand throughout the world.
Consistent with the foregoing, those skilled in the art developed techniques and methods to assist in harvesting brine shrimp eggs from the shoreline of a hypersaline body of water. Traditionally, shovels and various netting apparatus were utilized along the shorelines to collect the free-floating mixture of brine shrimp eggs and debris. Shoreline harvesting methods and apparatus of the prior art, however, incorporate many disadvantages. For example, one of the most significant disadvantages associated with prior art shoreline harvesting techniques and methods is the conditions of the harvest being ultimately influenced by the weather in relation to its inherent control as to where, when, and if the brine shrimp eggs are deposited along the shoreline.
Another meaningful disadvantage with regards to shoreline harvesting methods and apparatus of the prior art includes the considerable amount of manual labor typically required to collect a sufficient quantity of brine shrimp eggs from the shoreline utilizing shoveling apparatus and prior art netting devices. Furthermore, a substantial amount of debris is traditionally harvested with the collection of the brine shrimp eggs, thus requiring the addition of numerous filtering and cleaning stages or steps before the brine shrimp eggs are properly processed and prepared for drying, packaging, and storage.
In an attempt to improve the collection output of harvesting brine shrimp eggs using prior art shoreline harvesting methods and devices, several attempts were made by those skilled in the art to develop a way of concentrating the brine shrimp eggs into a smaller, designated area along the shoreline by means of utilizing extensive fencing structures extending substantially outward from the shoreline. These prior art fencing structures were found to be generally expensive and, in addition, the harvesting of the brine shrimp eggs usually required ready access to a substantial amount of shoreline in order to properly position the prior art fencing structures. Even with extensive fencing structures operatively disposed along the shorelines of a body of water, the productivity of prior art shoreline harvesting apparatus and methods for collecting brine shrimp eggs inevitably remained at the uncontrollable mercy of the wind, the weather, and the water currents.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages of prior art shoreline harvesting techniques and methods, those skilled in the art began to integrate the teachings and disclosures of prior art oil-skimming devices and techniques. Consequently, oil-skimming devices of the prior art provided an immediate resource of technology in relation to the techniques and methods developed for removing oil from a body of water by means of incorporating an apparatus for skimming the surface of the water. Prior art oil-skimming apparatus and methods were found to be intimately analogous to the needs realized by those skilled in the art for harvesting brine shrimp eggs from a relative body of water.
For example, prior art oil-skimming devices may comprise one or more of the following structural and/or functional elements: (1) a means for funneling or directing an accumulation of oil floating at or near the surface of the water into a concentrating assembly; (2) a concentrating assembly comprising a substantially level, horizontal leading edge for skimming the surface of the water, wherein the leading edge may be connected to a mechanism for adjusting the positioning of the leading edge in relation to the surface of the water; (3) an inlet port disposed in operative relation to the concentrating assembly; and (4) a suction pump for pumping the oil and materials collected at the inlet port into a distillation tank or container providing a means for settling the oil from the water as a result of the specific gravity of the oil in relation to the water. Inherently similar in structural design and function, those skilled in the art developed apparatus and methods for use in harvesting brine shrimp eggs which customarily incorporate one or more of the elements of prior art oil-skimming devices, as outlined above.
As a result of the physical characteristics and nature of brine shrimp eggs in relation to oil, those skilled in the art modified the oil skimming technology of the prior art by replacing its distillation tanks with porous container bags. In particular, the replacement of the distillation tanks with one or more porous container bags was generally meant to provide a means for allowing water to filter through the mesh material comprising the porous bags, thereby leaving the collection of live and dead brine shrimp, brine shrimp eggs, discarded brine shrimp shell casings, brine fly casings, wood pieces, trash, tumbleweeds, twigs, dead waterfowl, and/or other types of floating debris within the porous storage bags for transport to an off-water site for processing, cleaning, drying, packaging, and storage.
Although the assimilation of prior art oil-skimming technology for harvesting bring shrimp eggs from a body of water overcomes some of the disadvantages of the prior art shoreline harvesting methods, such brine shrimp egg skimming devices of the prior art still embody several inherent disadvantages and limitations. For example, utilizing a collection assembly supportably disposed in relation to a buoyant frame or watercraft including a structural leading edge for skimming the surface of the water at a general depth of less than 5 cm (2 inches), and more particularly, at a depth of 0.625 cm to 2.5 cm (1/4 inch to 1 inch) below the surface of the water, normally requires the buoyant frame to move through the various streams of naturally occurring brine shrimp egg colonies and other floating debris in order to adequately skim the mixture from the surface of the water and deposit the mixture into one or more prior art porous container bags. A meaningful drawback to navigating through these naturally occurring colonies of brine shrimp eggs and floating debris which may cover a significant area of the surface of the body of water generally involves serious inconveniences and an inefficient use of time in relation to overall productivity. In this regard, it typically takes a significant amount of time to sufficiently skim off all the brine shrimp eggs found in a naturally occurring egg streak.
Besides prior art skimming devices for harvesting brine shrimp eggs, other apparatus and methods were developed by those skilled in the art. For example, prior art egg harvesters were developed consisting of a scooping mechanism utilized for removing the free-floating mixture from the water and introducing the collected mixture of live and dead brine shrimp, brine shrimp eggs, discarded shell casings, brine fly casings, pieces of wood, trash, tumbleweeds, twigs, dead waterfowl, and/or other types of floating debris into one or more porous container bags. Traditionally, prior art scooping devices may employ a series of collection members or baskets that are generally capable of being immersed below the surface of the water by means of a rotational conveyor system in order to scoop the mixture from the water.
Prior art scooping devices for harvesting brine shrimp eggs, however, have been found to incorporate several disadvantages. For example, depending on the rotational direction of a supporting conveyor system, the movement of prior art scooping devices through the water typically generate a stirring motion in the water which may encourage the brine shrimp eggs deeper under the surface of the water, thereby making the potential harvest much less efficient and productive. In addition, by means of utilizing a water-permeable collection basket, the water generally drains through the mesh screen comprising the basket and, unfortunately, the brine shrimp eggs have been found to aggregate and adhere to the mesh walls of the collection basket thereby making it difficult to adequately remove all the brine shrimp eggs before the collection basket re-enters the water by way of the rotating conveyor system. Prior art scooping devices for harvesting brine shrimp eggs also customarily incorporate multiple working parts which may facilitate a complicated system of operation and/or method of use. As appreciated in this particular art, economic considerations carry significant weight when dealing with the highly competitive brine shrimping industry, since relatively complicated apparatus and methods are frequently found to be expensive and, likewise, commercially impractical.
In operation, brine shrimp egg harvesting apparatus and methods of the prior art customarily remove a naturally occurring mixture of brine shrimp eggs and debris floating at or near the surface of a body of water and deliver this collected mixture into a storage assembly or one or more container bags preferably formed having a porous construction. Similarly, porous container bags of the prior art may provide a means for water to disperse from the mixture, thereby leaving the collected brine shrimp eggs and debris contained within one or more of the porous bags. A significant amount of unwanted debris remains within the porous container bags intimately intermixed with the brine shrimp eggs. As noted above, the floating debris may include, but is not intended to be limited to, dead and live brine shrimp, discarded brine shrimp shell casings, brine fly casings, pieces of wood, trash, tumbleweeds, twigs, dead waterfowl, and/or other types of floating material. The collected debris, together with the brine shrimp eggs, generally comprise the mixture floating on or at the surface of the water. Historically, prior art porous container bags are filled with this mixture and preferably transported to shore where the collected brine shrimp eggs may be separated from the unwanted debris at a processing plant utilizing a means of removing the unwanted debris and retaining the "clean" brine shrimp eggs for purposes of drying, packaging, and storage.
An inherent disadvantage with collection methods of prior art harvesting apparatus is that one or more sites are required to process and clean the brine shrimp eggs from the unwanted debris for purposes of drying, packaging, and storage before the quality of the egg begins to degrade and spoil. Another serious disadvantage with prior art collection apparatus and methods is that the greater the quantity of the debris collected and retained within the porous container bags, the less the overall quantity of brine shrimp eggs retained contiguously with the unwanted debris within the container bags as a result of the limited internal holding capacity of each bag.
Similarly, the buoyant support frame or watercraft which supports prior art harvesting apparatus may have to unload often due to the inclusion of unwanted debris. Consequently, a substantial amount of time and labor may be required to take one or more boats to shore in order to unload the container bags filled with this mixture of brine shrimp eggs and other floating debris. Multiple trips to shore for off-loading may therefore have a major effect on the overall productivity and economic output of the harvesting operation. Accordingly, the time allocated for actual harvesting of brine shrimp eggs may be adversely affected, if a considerable amount of time is spent traveling to and from the shore for unloading. If prior art brine shrimp egg harvesting equipment is tied up by way of unloading, competitors will, more often than not, have the opportunity to stake valuable claims to the remaining colonies of brine shrimp eggs available on the open water for harvesting.
Efforts have continuously been made in an attempt to more efficiently harvest brine shrimp eggs and remedy many of the above-identified disadvantages. The prior art brine shrimp egg harvesting apparatus and methods discussed herein leave much to be desired from the standpoint of manufacturing costs, simplicity of construction, and effectiveness of operation. Considering all these factors, prior art apparatus and methods for harvesting brine shrimp eggs have also proven to require a significant investment of time and labor in relation to the overall goal of producing a supply of "clean" brine shrimp eggs for subsequent processing, storage, and sale. None of the prior art disclosures suggest or teach the present inventive system or combination of elements for an apparatus and method for harvesting and cleaning brine shrimp eggs on the open water, as herein described and claimed.